Welcome to the Brush Lettering and Beyond Blog Series. This is Part 3. This post will guide you through the best brush lettering resources. This is a 5-part series. You can find the rest of the series at the bottom of this post.
*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my Disclosure for more information.
We are already to the third part of this blog series! Yikes! That means next Thursday when the next part goes live, it will be Thanksgiving! Which means there’s like 38 until Christmas! Whoa!!
Which means, this is a great time to learn brush lettering and make your own Christmas Cards for friends and family. Let’s not pretend that we all don’t want to show up our siblings when it comes to who sends the best card. You’d definitely win with a hand-lettered card.
Because I can’t create all the tutorials and worksheets you want, I’m going to be sharing my favorite brush lettering resources today. Everything from books to free online classes and YouTube channels will be discussed in this post.
Brush Lettering Classes
I put together a post with some of my favorite online brush lettering classes a while back. And I’ll share more of those here, today.
You can take these classes for FREE! 100% Free! And I guarantee that if you follow along with the videos in the provided courses, and do the projects that accompany the classes, you will greatly improve your brush lettering skills. These people are experts in their field and are very helpful when describing techniques.
Brush Lettering Made Simple – this is a perfect course if you are a beginner. You will learn basic strokes and pressure techniques, then be tasked with creating your own frameable piece of hand-lettered art with your own style.
Beginner Brush Lettering & Watercolor – watercolor is in right now, and for a good reason. It allows you to create beautiful and soft designs. In this course, you’ll learn brush lettering with bounce, plus watercolor techniques. The final project is to create your own greeting cards using the techniques you learned.
The Golden Secrets of Script Lettering – in this course, you will be learning from a professional letterer and designer. She’s incredible at what she does and will guide you through every aspect of lettering. From designing letters to spacing and inspiration, and finally moving on to adding flourishes and even digitizing your lettering. Want to add a unique signature to the bottom of your blog posts or emails? Here’s your solution.
Intro to iPad Lettering – are you intrigued by lettering on the iPad Pro? *me raising my hand very high*. You definitely want to take this course. Teela is a great instructor with a lot of charm and an invaluable amount of knowledge on the subject. She shows you how to use different programs you can use on the iPad, as well additive and subtractive lettering techniques, customizing your brushes, and metallic patterns. Even if you don’t own an iPad, but are considering one for Christmas, you’ll want a look inside this course.
Brush Lettering YouTube Channels
YouTube isn’t just for funny cat videos. It’s a great resource for any and all things creative. There are a number of brush lettering and modern calligraphy focused channels, and if you are curious about new styles and embellishments, you should definitely subscribe.
KellyCreates – Kelly’s entire channel is a letterer’s dream come true. She is fabulously creative and inspirational. Her videos include how to add bounce to your letters, how to letter on pumpkins, how to join letters and strokes, and how to blend.
Pieces Calligraphy – Sharisse from Pieces Calligraphy is incredibly talented! She’s also taught multiple in-person workshops on calligraphy. Everything she shares is helpful. I spent a lot of time on her channel while I was trying to decide on pens and then while I was working on refining my lettering.
The Happy Ever Crafter – Becca is a joy to watch and learn with. She has a great sense of humor and an extensive knowledge of calligraphy, faux calligraphy, and lettering techniques.
K Werner Design – remember me talking about holiday cards? This is your lady, folks! She creates stunning greeting cards, birthday cards, holiday cards, etc. She’ll give you in-depth instructions and supply recommendations, teach you how to blend your markers, and show you beautiful watercolor techniques.
Hand Lettering Books
Of course, I won’t neglect books. I’m someone who likes physical items. I want to flip through a book and read the instructions and then work at my own pace. You can do that with video tutorials, but you are going to spend a lot of time pausing the video, rewinding, and trying to find practice sheets online. Instead, you can get one of these brush lettering workbooks and work at your own pace.
The Ultimate Brush Lettering Guide – This book is written by Peggy Dean, who happens to be one of my favorite brush lettering teachers. This book, along with her Botanical Line Drawing book are bestsellers with great reviews. It comes with practice pages that you are suggested to photocopy and use as much as you need. And you’ll have access to tons of different font variations, flourishes, and other embellishments to try.
Lettering With Purpose – Brittany Luiz is awesome, and her new(ish) book reflects that. She leaves nothing out! From the very basics to creating your own alphabet and adding some flair to your brush lettering. With 100 prompts, this book is worth every penny.
Other Parts in the Series
Want to keep up with this blog series? Join me on Facebook or Subscribe to my Newsletter to be notified when the next post comes out. Posts will be published every Thursday through November.